Cartoonist Ted Rall is one step closer to getting his day in court: the California Supreme Court has granted his Petition for Review in his anti-SLAPP lawsuit against the Los Angeles Times. Rall had been attempting to sue the newspaper for wrongful dismissal and defamation, after he was fired as a contributor by the newspaper in 2015. The media conglomerate has since tied up the freelance cartoonist in court with a provision designed to help individuals fight large corporations — the exact opposite of the statutes intent.

The AAEC was one of seven organizations that filed Friend of the Court briefs in support of Rall. Here's the letter we sent to the court back in March: https://news.aaecrebuild.wpengine.com/aaec/2019/03/the-aaec-supports-ted-rall-in-his-legal-fight-with-the-los-angeles-times.html

Rall posted the following on his website and Facebook yesterday:

"Against long odds, the California Supreme Court has granted my Petition for Review. We are asking the high court to vacate the LA Times' abusive anti-SLAPP motion against me as granted by the two lower courts. The successful Petition was drafted by my attorneys Jeff Lewis and Roger Lowenstein."

"Breaking precedent where newspapers are usually on the side of free speech, seven First Amendment organizations issued amicus briefs against the Times and its billionaire owner, Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong. These groups are:

Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
Cartoonists Rights Network International
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Index on Censorship (UK)
National Coalition Against Censorship
National Writers Union
Project Censored

Thank you SO much to these groups and their members for their courageous support in my struggle against censorship by the police.

Both sides will file briefs in preparation for oral arguments.

This is a momentous day."